Chapter 17 His Little Wife Knows Kung Fu

The train clattered rhythmically, carrying a carriage full of people and stories, heading towards the distant north.

The soft sleeper compartment isolates you from most of the outside noise, leaving only the monotonous sound of wheels rolling over the rails, which actually calms you down.

Lu Jingyan went to the connecting area between the carriages to smoke, while Su Wantang was alone in the private room, leaning against the headboard with her eyes slightly closed, as if she were resting.

In reality, the world inside her is undergoing earth-shattering changes.

A faint current of energy, like a newborn snake, rose from her dantian and slowly traveled along the meridian routes recorded in the *Taiyi Xuanjing*. This current of energy was the first trace of internal energy she had condensed after absorbing the ancient martial arts techniques from the Inheritance Library.

Initially, it was as thin as a spider's thread, almost imperceptible.

But with her continuous circulation over the past two days, this energy flow has grown considerably stronger, bringing a tingling, warm sensation wherever it passes, nourishing her body that had been drained by illness. The depletion from ten years of bed rest in her previous life is being made up for little by little.

She was utterly captivated by the feeling of this power flowing through her body.

This is proof of good health and the confidence to take control of one's own destiny.

"Waaah—"

The train stopped at a major station called "Wangjiang".

The noise from the platform instantly surged in, with vendors hawking their wares, children crying, and people speaking in various accents, all blending into a noisy symphony.

Su Wantang's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open them.

A middle-aged man, dressed sloppily and with greasy hair, was carrying a chipped enamel mug. He pretended to be looking for someone and peered around in the corridor.

His gaze swept across each of the sleeper compartments, and when he saw Su Wantang's compartment, a greedy glint flashed in his cloudy eyes.

A single young woman, so pretty and dressed so well.

Isn't this just a fat sheep delivered to their door?

His gaze finally settled on the small handbag beside Su Wantang's bed.

That bag was a new style from a Shanghai department store. Although it only contained some disguised items like handkerchiefs and face cream, to outsiders it was a symbol of wealth.

The man licked his chapped lips and quietly retreated back into the crowd.

A few minutes later, Lu Jingyan returned, his water bottle filled with hot water.

"It just stopped at the station, it's crowded and a bit chaotic, don't get off," he instructed, putting his water bottle away.

Su Wantang hummed in agreement, opened her eyes, and smiled at him: "Understood, Lieutenant Colonel Lu."

"There are freshly made boxed lunches over there in the dining car. I'll go buy two." Looking at her obedient appearance, Lu Jingyan's heart softened, and his voice became gentler.

"good."

Lu Jingyan turned and left, closing the door to the private room behind him, but leaving it unlocked.

Just as his tall figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

The door was silently pushed open a crack by a dark hand.

The disheveled middle-aged man peeked in with shifty eyes. Seeing that Su Wantang was indeed alone inside, he gave his accomplice outside the door a wink, then crouched down and slipped inside.

His movements were very light, and his footsteps were almost silent, clearly indicating that he was a repeat offender.

Seeing that Su Wantang still had her eyes closed and seemed to be sleeping soundly, he became even bolder.

He darted to the bedside in a few steps, and with lightning speed, one hand grabbed the handbag.

Success!

The man was secretly delighted.

Just as that dirty hand was about to touch the handbag, she flicked her wrist against the headboard with lightning speed!

A flash of silver light, gone in an instant!

No one saw how she moved, but a silver needle as thin as a cow's hair had silently pierced the nerve in the man's wrist!

"Well!"

The man felt as if he had been stung by a wasp on his wrist; a sharp, tingling sensation instantly shot through half of his body. His outstretched hand immediately went numb, hanging limply like a piece of rotten wood.

His facial muscles contorted, and he opened his mouth to shout, but found that his throat was blocked by something, and he could only make strange hoarse sounds.

I can't move!

The two accomplices at the door clearly hadn't expected this turn of events.

They froze for a second, then their faces turned fierce.

"Damn! This is a tough one!"

"Kill her!"

One of the young men, with a shaved head, cursed angrily and pounced in like a hungry tiger, his large hand reaching directly for Su Wantang's hair.

They're experts at dealing with women; grab them by the hair, and see how they resist!

Faced with this fierce grab, Su Wantang not only didn't dodge, but moved instead.

She swayed, her feet moving with an ethereal grace, her entire being like a weightless leaf. Just as the young man's hand was about to touch her hair, she narrowly avoided him at an incredible angle.

At the same time, her slender, fair finger had already channeled the faint internal energy within her body, and in the instant the young man rushed over, she lightly tapped the soft flesh under his ribs with lightning speed.

"Bang!"

The young man's movements came to an abrupt halt, his expression froze, and he felt a piercing pain from his ribs. All the strength in his body seemed to be drained away in an instant, and his legs went weak, causing him to kneel straight down on the ground.

The other accomplice was terrified.

That's not a woman, that's a ghost!

He turned to run, but Su Wantang wouldn't give him the chance.

She moved with lightning speed, closing in on him, and with another finger, she touched his knee joint.

A crisp "click" sounded.

The man screamed in agony as one of his legs bent at an unnatural angle, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, clutching his leg and howling like a pig being slaughtered.

The entire process takes no more than three seconds.

Three adult men, one with numb hands and hemiplegia, and two incapacitated, were groaning and rolling around on the ground.

Su Wantang gracefully sat back down on the edge of the bed and pulled the silver needle from the first man's wrist.

She brought the silver needle to her lips and gently blew away non-existent dust.

"Clang."

The door to the private room was opened.

Lu Jingyan returned with two aluminum lunchboxes and stood at the door.

He immediately saw the scene inside the private room.

Three men groaned in pain on the ground, the air thick with the stench of sweat and fear.

Meanwhile, his young wife, Su Wantang, whom he remembered as intelligent and decisive but ultimately powerless, was slowly and methodically putting a gleaming silver needle back into her sleeve.

Her face even carried a hint of lingering languor.

Lu Jingyan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Hearing the commotion, the train conductor behind him leaned out and asked, "Comrade, what happened?"

"It's nothing." Lu Jingyan turned around expressionlessly, his tall figure completely blocking the train conductor's view. "My friend had too much to drink and was just joking around."

After saying that, he turned around and closed the door, locking it.

The private room fell silent instantly.

Only the suppressed, painful groans of the three robbers remained.

Lu Jingyan didn't look at the three ants lying on the ground.

He gently placed the thermos on the table, making a muffled "thump" that was particularly clear in the deathly silence.

His gaze was fixed intently on Su Wantang.

For the first time, his eyes held an intense, unyielding curiosity and wonder, along with a hint of...fiery passion that he himself was unaware of.

He discovered that this woman was like a fascinating black hole. He thought he had seen the bottom of her, but if he took another step forward, he would find that below was a deeper, more alluring starry sky.

She emptied her family's coffers, claiming they were her mother's belongings.

She reported her entire family, claiming it was to rid the people of a scourge.

What about now?

How can this incredible skill be explained?

He walked step by step toward her, his tall figure casting a shadow that completely enveloped her.

The air seemed to freeze.

He stared at her, his Adam's apple bobbing, and then he spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice low and husky, with a strange magnetism.

"You... know martial arts?"